


Just Percussionist Problems

by Dunster (JadedCoral)



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-06-01 12:01:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6518521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedCoral/pseuds/Dunster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which hunger leads to Josh having an (sexual) identity crisis, and Tyler tries his absolute worst to help him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Out of the one thousand and fifty eight things I should be writing right now, this is not it. Shite.

”Tyler,” says Josh suddenly, disturbing the sleepy atmosphere they had been lulling in for the best part of the past hour now. “I think I might not be as straight as I thought I was.”

“Where’d this sudden epiphany come from?” Tyler asks lazily from where he’s completely pressed himself against Josh’s side, warm and comfortable and reluctant to do much else other than stare off into space. The couch they’re lying on is soft, and Josh is even softer, and Tyler is very tempted to just submerge back into the headspace where all his yet made songs reside in.

Instead his head lolls uncomfortably when Josh shrugs, jostling him a bit more awake.

“I dunno. It was just a passing thought,” Josh mutters, tone low and thoughtful, though he’s scratching his stomach rather than his head as he voices this remark.

“Why’d you chase it?” Tyler in turn wonders while trying to resist a yawn by biting down on the sleeve of Josh’s T-shirt. He gnaws on the fabric, and even though Josh lets out a disgruntled sound due to the unpleasant feeling of getting Tyler’s saliva on his clothes, he does absolutely nothing to make his friend stop doing it. In the end, Tyler gives up and just presses his yawn against Josh’s bicep.

“It was burrito-related at first, I think, so I went with it,” Josh tells him a bit absentmindedly, looking up at the ceiling like the script which would help him explain himself better was being held there. “Then it suddenly stopped having anything to do with food, and now I’m stuck with just this- this _thing_.”

“Typical Josh,” Tyler says amused. “Letting food lure you into an identity crisis.”

“Not a crisis,” Josh protests, though it’s more of a grumpy mutter than it is an actual denial. “Just a realization.”

Tyler just hums, his eyelids growing heavier as he trails the tips of his fingers over Josh’s chest. He’s just about to sneak his hand down his friend’s collar to be able to trace actual skin, when Josh starts to wriggle around, tuning to face him. They end up nose-to-nose enough to make both go a bit cross-eyed, so Josh pulls back a bit, though the way Tyler fists his hand around the front of his shirt prevents him from going too far.

“No, you see, here’s the thing, okay?” Josh begins to elaborate without any requests for him to do so. “I was thinking that if I only ever ate burritos, then I wouldn’t know how awesome tacos taste, right? And then I was glad that I haven’t missed out on either of them, because tacos _and_ burritos. Yum. Anyway, so I kept applying this to a lot of things, until finally I thought that what if I miss out on something sick I could have with a dude while thinking I’m only into chicks?”

“That’s a valid concern,” Tyler agrees while nodding slowly, managing to sound only a little bit condescending.

“I know it is,” Josh says and then asks him in all seriousness, “So how can I make sure if or not I am and what?”

Tyler gives this an actual thought, but instead of a passable solution, he just ends up with what feels like the beginning of a headache.

“You just gotta test the waters, man,” Tyler responds shrugging, rubbing his temples to ease the growing pain. John frowns at him, resting his other hand on Tyler’s and letting the pad of his thumb draw circles on his scalp in an attempt to help. After his head feels soothed enough, Tyler continues to say, “What I’m saying is that you just gotta try stuff with a guy and see how it feels like. It can’t be that complicated.”

“Right,” Josh agrees, nodding slowly. His eyes drift to some distant corner of their tour bus as he thinks it over. “Right,” he repeats, “I guess I’ll just, uh, go find a guy, then.”

Tyler snorts, tugging at the front of his shirt again and giving him a smile that is more amused than anything. “I’m available,” he says.

It makes Josh frown. “You don’t count.”

“And why not?” Tyler demands, tugging some more like he’s throwing a miniature tantrum. It’s almost like he’s offended. Almost.

“Because we peck and cuddle all the time,” Josh reasons, prying the hand off of his shirt before Tyler pulled the fabric out of shape. “If I’m going to discover something new about myself, then it should be with someone new altogether, right?”

Tyler doesn’t seem to agree, if the pout on his face could be taken as any indication on what he thought about the matter. He mulls over it a bit, before turning a sharp gaze on Josh, the look in his eyes decisive when he says, “As the lead singer, there’s no way I’m allowing my drummer to make out with some random guy.”

Josh only raises an eyebrow at that. “Then I’ll just quit, yeah? Break free from under your dictatorship and give my beat to somebody else’s songs. Would serve you right.”

Tyler narrows his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t,” Josh admits without any added teasing or hesitation. It’s just a fact, and they both know it. Still, Tyler seems to grow less stiff at the confirmation, and as a form of an apology, Josh drags his hand down his friend’s body and pets at his lower back.

Humming, Tyler noses his way into the crook of Josh’s neck, staying there for a while before he says, “There’s no harm in giving it a try, though, is there?”

Too lazy to form words, Josh just goes with a, “Hm?” and then, “Hmmph!” when instead of an answer, Tyler maneuvers him around like he’s dough, pulling and nudging and wriggling until his intentions are fulfilled and he has Josh lying on top of him. They both blink at each other, Josh with a dazed sort of confusion and Tyler with pretentious coyness.

“Well?” he prods.

“Huh?” Josh says, a bit slow on the intake.

“Seems like we’re in a compromising position,” Tyler shrugs like he has no idea how this might have happened. He trails his knuckles down Josh’s cheek, eyes wide and filled with faux-innocence when he says, “I’m sure no one would blame you if you took advantage of it.”

A sudden burst of laughter escapes Josh, and he drops his face to bury his chuckles right next to Tyler’s ear. After getting it out of his system, Josh props himself up to lean on his elbows, smiling brightly down at Tyler and running his fingers through his hair, musing, “Well, you _do_ look pretty pretty lying there underneath me.”

"Yeah?” The look Tyler gives back would be nonchalant, if it wasn't for the pretty pink dusted across his cheeks. And then he breaks into a smile, unable to hold back the giggle the flattery edges from out of him and _yeah_ , Josh thinks. He really _is_ pretty pretty.

Deciding to just go with it, Josh leans down with an affectionate smile on his lips, pushing it gently against Tyler's matching one. It's soft and warm, much like Josh expected their kisses would be, based on the few times in the past when a kiss aimed at a cheek misplaced itself a bit closer to the corner of the mouth than originally intended.

But nice as it is, there are no exploding fireworks behind his eyelids nor sparks of electricity running down his body. There ain't none of that nervous excitement Josh remembers feeling whilst standing before a girl he'd just taken out on a date hours prior, now wondering if it'd be all right to lean down to get a taste of her. There's no burning bonfire either, not even when Tyler sinks his fingers into Josh's hair and licks his way inside his mouth to explore further.

Instead he's filled with this tingling happiness, which being near his best friend always gives him. They've known each other for years, so there's hardly any need to feel nervous either. And the passionate bonfire Josh had been looking forward to the most is more like what's left of it once the fires have subdued, leaving behind only red coals with the occasional yellow flame bursting out from somewhere as if there's still something left for it to burn. The sort of fire everyone gathers around under a starlit sky after a day full of fun play, basking in its warm light while getting cosy underneath a blanket shared with someone special while roasting marshmallows without the risk of burning them into something inedible. And then, once the treat was roasted enough, it'd be put between two crackers, and the taste of it would be just perfect, sugary goodness melting against his tongue, crackers cracking between his teeth. And Josh wouldn't share. He'd eat it all. Well, maybe he'd share with Tyler.

“Dude,” Tyler pulls away from the kiss with a laugh when Josh moans, turning his head to the side when his drummer goes to chase his lips with a far-gone look in his eyes. “Are you hungry?” he asks, placing his other hand flat on Josh's stomach and taking the physical rumble he could feel there as confirmation enough.

“Marshmallows,” Josh murmurs absently against his ear, before dropping his head to plant kisses on the junction of Tyler's neck.

“Uh,” says someone, rudely interrupting them. Both look up and towards the origin of the sound, finding Mark standing at the door, giving them a queer look.

Two things register in Josh's mind at that moment. One; Mark is a boy, but not a random one, therefore the restrictions Josh's lead singer had previously put in place concerning his escapades would be invalid. Two; there is a huge bag of takeaway hanging from Mark's hand.

“Mark-!” Josh begins to say, trying to sit up as quickly as he can. He doesn't get very far, though, because Tyler is even quicker in wrapping himself around Josh, which leads to some unfortunate balancing, gravitation and eventually with Josh on his back on the floor with a chestful of Tyler.

“Flee, Mark!” Tyler manages to shout in the midst of their struggles. “I'm not sure if he's after the food or you, but I will sacrifice my body to defend our lunch _and_ your virtue!”

And Mark does flee. Very slowly. All the way to the kitchenette, where he leaves the food on the counter.

“I'll just leave this here,” he's saying like he's already gotten over the odd situation he had walked in on. The smirk on his face, on the other hand, suggests otherwise. “You can start without me, I've some gossiping to do.”

Then the door closes, and there's just the two of them again.

“Why are you such a cockblock?” Josh asks with a pout on his face.

Tyler just shrugs with a playful smile, before he pushes himself off of Josh, shouting, “Dibs on the dips!” as he heads for the bag of food brought to them. Josh scrambles to stand up and follow, like there'd be no food left for him if he wasn't fast enough. Which might end up being true, seeing how Tyler seems determined to pile out every last chicken quesadilla from out of the bag and onto his cardboard plate.

“Dude, stop hogging the goods! What are you doing?” Josh whines once he gets to the crime scene in the making, getting his own plate and trying to reach for one, only to get his hand slapped away.

“Cockblocking,” Tyler deadpans, though his seriousness doesn't last for long, before they're both laughing and stuffing their faces with something that their doctors will probably scold them about a couple of decades later while taking their blood pressure, but they're too young to care at this moment.

Seeing that their mouths are full of food, the air around them is filled with chews and swallows rather than idle conversation, and even after Josh has managed to eat enough to chase the mind-numbing hunger away, he still opts to just bluntly stare at Tyler who seems to be slowly falling into some post-takeaway coma.

He has this distant look in his eyes and grease and ' _special sauce_ ' smeared around his mouth. It's not a very attractive look, to be honest, but it makes Josh feel this familiar warmth inside his chest, like he's bursting at the seams with adoration. Sure, there might be no fireworks or grand bonfires, but they have the warmth of the barely lit coals, a blanket wrapped around them and each other as they eat marshmallows under the starlit sky, and aren't _those_ the moments you'd wish would never end?

And _, Oh_ , he realises, blinking slowly before feeling a wide smile spread on his face. Tyler returns to the present when Josh leans in and presses another kiss on the corner of his mouth, both ending up smiling like idiots for no reason at all.

“It was stupid of me to worry,” Josh confesses, nudging his nose against Tyler's. The other closes his eyes and hums like he agrees, which is kinda rude. Still, Josh goes to explain himself better, saying, “I haven't missed out on anything.”

“Because you had me all along,” Tyler finishes his conclusion. “And what we have is sick as frick.”

_Yeah_ , he can't help but agree, slowly burning with affection. _Sick as frick_.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tyler thinks they should have sex, and Josh finds it problematic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wrote something light-hearted and utterly stupid to heal my own heart after reading so many sad fics! I am sad. And this is dumb.

 

“We should have sex,” Tyler says casually in between sipping the energy drink he had been provided with by one of the guys working backstage and soaking in the cheers of the crowd outside demanding for an encore.

 

“Huh?” Josh blinks, pretty sure he had heard right the first time, but caught so off guard by the sudden statement that perhaps that wasn't the case after all.

 

Having the audacity to roll his eyes like what he had said shouldn't need any explaining at all, Tyler stares at the stage they're about to re-enter a moment longer, before turning to look at his bandmate. Apparently his attempt is to throw Josh a pouty kind of frown in order to get his point across via petulance, but then his gaze starts to wander down Josh's shirtless torso, and while the drummer spends an unaccountable amount of time sans shirt while performing in front of screaming people reaching out with their arms like they want to grab him, he's never felt quite as indecent about his lack of attire as he does now under the scrutiny of his best friend.

 

Tyler's basically talking to his tits when he goes to repeat himself. “ _Intercourse_ , Joshua. You and I.”

 

Still confused, Josh looks between the stage where they're expected to appear on right about now and behind his back where their dressing rooms are, crossing his arms to cover his chest and shifting his weight on his legs a bit self-consciously. “Like, right now?”

 

“What?” Now Tyler's looking surprised, lifting his gaze to give Josh a wide-eyed stare instead. Then he bursts into a disbelieved laughter. “No! Not right now. That'd be insane, man,” he chuckles, stopping when he spots the sulky look on his friend's face. “Wait, were you _actually_ gonna agree to it, as in, right now?”

 

Josh just shrugs. “If the lead singer says sex should be had, then what's a drummer to do?”

 

“Consider it?” Tyler says, voicing it like a question as if to mock Josh for taking things too literally. “Agree if they want it? Reject if they don't?”

 

Josh makes a face at him, jutting his tongue out, but promises that, “I'll give it a thought.”

 

“That's what I was hoping to hear,” Tyler nods, grinning. Then he dismisses Josh by planting a sharp slap on his ass to send him back on stage, telling him to, “Go blow their minds away one more time.”

 

–

 

The funny gif of a cat misjudging its own ability to jump had just loaded properly on the screen of his phone when Josh hears a soft moan from the bunk bed below him, which would undoubtedly be the first one out of the many to follow. They've toured on this godforsaken bus full of guys for so long now that they're all pretty much past trying to have discreet wank sessions in the tiniest bathroom ever while everyone else was supposedly too busy doing this or that to notice. It had gotten old pretty quick, and besides, since they all do it anyway, they might as well get comfortable in their own bunks and just let the others ignore them having a little me-time.

 

In the spirits of this, Josh tries to be a good bro and filter out any noises Tyler is about to make, sinking deeper into his pillows as he considers leaving a comment on the post. But Tyler keeps growing steadily noisier, and it's starting to sound suspiciously theatrical, so Josh sees it as his right to comment on it. “You getting a bit loud down there, baby boy?”

 

“Josh!” Tyler wails like he can't even comprehend the utter bliss he's in, and while Josh is fairly certain the guy can't be having _that_ good of a time by his lonesome, his body is still raising to the bait and starts to show interest pretty quickly. Which is _such_ an inconvenience, really, because he'd just managed to find the perfect browsing position.

 

Indecisive if he should put on headphones to shut out the world or continue to be embarrassingly in sync with the bout of arousal that has taken over Tyler, Josh looks down and contemplates the tent growing in his shorts. Then Tyler lets out a series of filthy sounds _no one_ should make in real life, and Josh groans, quickly sticking his hand down his shorts. Might as well.

 

He's a few strokes in when his mind starts to go through the catalogue of sexy things that should get him off. It's not a list Tyler's ever appeared on, but considering his earlier proposal and the way he's apparently currently doing naughty things with his drummer in his dirty little mind, perhaps Josh should join this mindset and give the lead singer a go.

 

The imagery starts pretty nicely with them sitting and kissing lazily on a hotel bed with squeaky strings. The sheets are plain and clean, he has the time to observe, before Tyler starts to make these adorable noises which Josh wants to continue to be the cause of. So he closes his eyes and brings his hand on his friend's cheek and concentrates only on doing his absolute best to please those soft and full lips of his.

 

Everything is warm and lovely. They work so well together, even when Tyler pulls back a bit just to sigh out Josh's name and to breathe, Josh letting his gaze drift shamelessly to Tyler's neck to watch how his Adam's apple moves as he swallows. Tyler has a nice neck, he thinks. One that should be kissed more, maybe marked with a couple of hickeys as well. Just about to do that, Josh leans in a bit until he spots mints on the pillows behind Tyler's back, left there by the cleaner for them to enjoy, no doubt. Idly he wonders if they taste as good as he remembers from his childhood.

 

“ _Concentrate_ ,” imaginary Tyler orders him, forcibly turning Josh to face him by grabbing his jaw, before he plunges his tongue into Josh's mouth and starts to palm his crotch and _wow_ , _okay_ , is all Josh's mind is able to supply, mints completely forgotten. His subconscious, it turns out, has quite the way to prioritize his desires.

 

Despite his authoritarian approach just now, Tyler doesn't seem to be in very much of a hurry to proceed with things. Instead his kisses grow more languid while he builds up Josh's anticipation by playing idly with the waistline of his pants. Which works just fine for Josh, considering this sort of scenery is new to him, and he's being given time to get his head around it. Imaginary Tyler sure is considerate. It's almost enough to make him blush.

 

Eventually Josh is the one who ends up taking things further. He places a hand on Tyler's shoulder and pushes him backwards as gently as he can, careful not to detach their lips as he follows the downwards path until he's lying on top of the other. A content _mm_ escapes Tyler's throat, and he circles his arms around Josh's neck to pull him closer until they're chest to chest, distancing himself from the kiss only to give Josh a smiley look that makes his heart swell.

 

Suddenly this strong desire to find a way to give the moon to this guy washes over Josh. This is it, Tyler's _his_ _guy_ , he's realizing all over again. The guy he'd take a probing for from an alien any day, or fight off a peckish horde of the undead just to keep him safe. Being subjected to that look is slowly turning him into mush, and Josh is pretty sure that in this state he'd be ready to even commit a murder if only Tyler asked him to do it.

 

But the spell gets broken when Tyler leans in till those pretty lips of his are pressed against Josh's ear, whispering, “What are you going to do to me?” The tone of his voice is low and husky, and if that alone isn't enough to send a ripple of shivers down Josh's spine, then the way Tyler gnaws on his earlobe just might be.

 

“Um,” Josh manages to answer, head empty of thoughts. He looks down at Tyler's expectant face, and suddenly every inch of his body feels like one clumsy mess. He worries if he's lying too heavily on the other, wonders where he's really allowed to touch or look. Before anxiety gets the better of him and all this falls in ruins, Josh grabs Tyler's bicep to rearrange the two of them.

 

“How's this angle look like?” he eventually asks, once he has managed to position himself underneath Tyler, who's looking down at him in a very unimpressed manner.

 

“From up here? Like you're trying to avoid finishing what you started,” the other answers dryly.

 

“What? No!” Josh denies, feigning both hurt and shyness as he trails a finger over Tyler's tattoos before looking at him through his lashes, saying, “I wanna finish, just thought that you'd want to take control? You know, because I'm considerate like that.”

 

Tyler's unwilling to buy any of his half-assed excuses, glaring at Josh and suddenly grinding their pelvises together like that is supposed to be some form of a punishment. “Dude, this is _your_ fantasy. Just do whatever you want. Like _me_ for instance,” he grunts, breath hitching when he finds an agreeable rhythm.

 

Josh is squirming and gripping the sheets underneath him for dear life. Being dry-humped on a squeaky hotel bed shouldn't feel this amazing, surely! Through his moans and lack of breath, he manages to say, “I can't- I can't just _do_ you!”

 

Which is the wrong kind of dirty talk, he realizes, when Tyler suddenly stops and gets off of him.

 

“Whatever, man,” Josh's imagination says, clearly annoyed. “Go sort out your issues and don't come back before you do! Next time I better be getting some, Dun.”

 

Then Josh's eyes fly open, and he's staring at the ceiling of his bunk bed again, slightly sweaty and hand still around his cock.

 

“Holy frick,” he pants to himself, drawing his hand out of his shorts even though there's still miles to go before he'd reach potential satisfaction. “What a jerk.”

 

Though imaginary Tyler _did_ have a point concerning Josh having to solve some issues, he supposes. He hadn't exactly thought this through before he had started. Besides, them indulging in carnal pleasures had originally been _Tyler's_ idea. So maybe Josh should consult the mastermind concerning his plans for the two of them before trying this again.

 

Tyler's still making sounds below him, though they've subsided in intensity, like he's gotten bored in the middle of things. Briefly he wonders if or not this is a good time to barge in and start sprouting questions, before deciding to just go with the moment. Who knows, he might even catch an eye full of a flustered Tyler, and wouldn't that be great material for later use? You know, _inspirational_.

 

So with a, “Yo, Tyler!” he yanks the other's curtain open and hangs his head far enough down to be able to see the other properly.

 

Josh is greeted with a litany of _ah, ah, ah_ s, before Tyler's mind catches up and he notices he has a visitor, ending his linear moans with a _ha_? as he turns to look at Josh.

 

To Josh's disappointment, he doesn't look flustered at all. In fact, Tyler doesn't even have his hand between his legs, and instead of the tip of his cock, he's thumbing his favourite social media application as he scrolls through the feed. His less dominant hand is servicing the role of a pillow, and it looks like he hasn't bothered to unbutton even the upmost button of his shirt to show even the tiniest bit of skin.

 

“What the heck?” Josh demands brows furrowed. “What is this fraudulence?”

 

“What's up, buddy?” Tyler asks casually, turning back to stare at his phone.

 

“Oh, nothing much, just, you know, with you moaning like that a guy might have been led to believe he'd find you down here masturbating,” he says, trying his best not to sound too whiny.

 

“You dropped by just to see me jack off?” There is a self-satisfied little smirk on Tyler's lips when he says this, even when he keeps the tone of his voice innocent, sounding like he means every word in the best way possible when he turns back to look at Josh and says, “Aw, that's so sweet of you.”

 

“Heck yeah I did,” Josh admits as straightforwardly as he can, thinking Tyler is least likely to believe him if he's brutally honest. Rotating his wrist to gesture the state Tyler's in, Josh asks him to, “Care to explain all this?”

 

Tyler looks down at himself before he seems to understand what Josh is referring to. “I just thought I'd remind you to give us having sex a thought?”

 

“And you thought moaning about it would be a better way to go rather than just a, ' _hey have you thought about it_ '?” Josh asks skeptically.

 

Shrugging, Tyler looks up at him and smiles sweetly. “Did it work?”

 

Unable to help the small blush starting to heat his cheeks, Josh goes a bit shifty-eyed and is unwilling to admit to anything more than just a, “Maybe.”

 

“Oh?” Perking up, Tyler finally puts his phone aside to give Josh his full attention.

 

“Anyway!” Josh says a bit too loudly before his buddy bud has the time to ask any too specific and undoubtedly embarrassing questions concerning just how well his tactic had worked on him, quickly changing the subject to the reason why he had decided to pay a visit in the first place. “Regarding that: which one of us do you want to be the top?”

 

“Huh?” Tyler blinks, a frown growing on his face. A few ticks of silence go by, before he admits that, “I haven't given it that much of a thought, actually.”

 

“What?” Surprised by this confession, Josh goes to ask, “Then where'd you even get the idea that we should have sex from?”

 

“I just thought it'd have the potential to be awesome,” says Tyler, and huh, Josh can't exactly argue against his logic, all things considered. “Which one of us do _you_ think should top?”

 

“I dunno, man.” Scratching his scalp, Josh's head hits on empty before an inspirational image flashes on his mind. “Maybe you. I bet you'd be really good at fingering, being a pianist and all.”

 

Tyler's eyes grow comically wide before he's on board with this train of thought. “Dude. Following your logic you should be the one banging me, drummer boy.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Josh challenges. “Then why don't you strum my chords like I'm your ukulele?”

 

“I doubt I'd be coherent enough to do that once you're done blowing my trumpet,” the guy retaliates, turning to lie on his side and leaning his cheek against his hand in a very arrogant manner.

 

“That's funny,” Josh tries to keep up, his attempts to maintain the tone of the conversation dry falling short. “And here I thought all the jumping you do on stage in that skeleton costume was an indication that you wanted to jump my bones.”

 

“Maybe I've just been waiting for you to backflip me on the bed already,” Tyler counters while trailing his finger across the sheets like he's being shy about it.

 

Josh can't help it. He's just laughing now, previous arousal long forgotten. This stupidity is certainly not what he was seeking after when he went to confront Tyler about his visions concerning the two of them, but he's not about to complain.

 

“Hey yo,” Mark interrupts their debate when he walks into the bunk area, leaning against the beds on the opposite side of where the band has made their temporary homes in, asking if, “You two done making things awkward for the rest of us?”

 

Tyler pokes his head out of his bunk to look at their friend, and Josh raises his to give the lead singer some space, face flushed from the way he had been hanging it upside down for far too long.

 

“Never,” they say in unison, both grinning from ear to ear, to which the only proper response Mark can come up with is to roll his eyes.

 

“But hey, since you're here, which one of us do you think is top?” Tyler asks, tilting his head like it's an easy small-talk question like any other.

 

Clearly not comfortable at being included in this conversation, Mark looks around like he's searching for an escape, before he says, “You're both top, aren't you?”

 

“We can't both be top,” Tyler argues, and maybe he's enjoying their friend's discomfort a bit too much.

 

“No, the abbreviation of your band is TOP, so that's what you both literally are,” Mark states while crossing his arms, clearly hoping the discussion would end here.

 

“Ooh,” Josh whistles impressed, looking down to address Tyler. “He's right. That's clever.”

 

“I think he's just avoiding answering the real issue here,” Tyler says skeptically, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

“Look!” Throwing his hands up in surrender, Mark goes to babble, “It's not like I've given this a lot of thought. Or _any_ thought, for that matter. But _hypothetically_ , if one is drunk, and bored, and, uh, like, squinting their eyes. Then maybe, _maybe_ , one might think that Josh would look good on his knees while Tyler'd be pretty hot on his back, yeah?”

 

Then he turns around and walks away, muttering something under his breath as he goes.

 

“Huh,” Josh blinks after him.

 

“Well that's hardly helpful,” Tyler complains. Then he draws back into his bunk, before quickly reappearing and starting to climb into Josh's bed without permissions asked.

 

“Hey, what? Why?” is all Josh manages to say when he's pushed down, climbed over and leaned against. It's a lot cramped now, but he's never been good at complaining when he has Tyler pressed right next to him.

 

“I thought we could have a sleepover,” Tyler says while fishing his phone out of his back pocket. “There's this funny gif of a cat not knowing how to jump that I wanted to show you.”

 

“Oh, you mean this one?” Josh says excitedly, taking his own phone out and comparing their screens. “It's a perfect match,” he sighs dreamily.

 

“Just like us,” Tyler mocks him with a syrupy voice while batting those pretty eyelashes of his.

 

“You mean how we are incapable of deciding who should jump the other?” Josh mocks him right back, then returning to their earlier debate. “I was thinking that you should take the lead, since you're the lead singer.”

 

“But you're kinda my backup, so shouldn't you back me up against a wall and come up my-”

 

“Okay, whoa!” Josh exclaims loudly before bursting into laughter. “I surrender. There's no way I could win this against a songwriter, is there?”

 

Shrugging and smirking at him, Tyler suggests that, “If you can't out-talk me, then you could at least use your mouth to shut me up.”

 

Deciding to deny the guy what he was after, Josh just settles on smacking a kiss on the tip of his nose, grinning at the way his gesture makes Tyler's whole face ruck up. Seeing the retribution coming from miles away, Josh cranes his neck so that Tyler's lips hit his chin rather tan lips when he tries to give Josh a kiss after failing to receive one.

 

“Aw, c'mon, man,” Tyler groans from where his defeat has had him bury his head into the pillows right next to Josh's neck.

 

“Naw, I'm not gonna let you ruin the purity of a sleepover,” Josh says cheerily, patting at Tyler's back in a false attempt at trying to comfort him. “Wanna watch a movie instead? There should be candy buried somewhere at the foot of the bed.”

 

They both look down their bodies to where their feet are, before Tyler says, “Nah, I'm fine. A movie sounds good, though.”

 

So they settle down in the cramped space and watch an awful movie from a tiny-ass screen, and it's enough to make them forget anything else aside for the comfort of having the other so near them and how fortunate it is that things have ended up so well for them so far.

 

They've plenty of time to figure other things out. The rest of forever, if they're lucky.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which two bros Netflix and chill and Netflix and chill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had started writing this ages ago, but I was too busy chasing invisible pocket monsters to finish it sooner.

 

**From Tyler:** _dude, Netflix n chill, my room, now. y/y?_

**To Tyler:** _sure thing bro_

**From Tyler:** _great! bring the necessities ;)_

**To Tyler:** _k_  
**To Tyler:** _you fancying something specific or will pizza do?_

**From Tyler:** _bro._  
**From Tyler:** _I meant 'Netflix n chill' in the biblical sense._  
**From Tyler:** _just. lemme rephrase real quick..._  
**From Tyler:** _wanna copulate?_

**To Tyler:** _oh_  
**To Tyler:** _then by necessities you meant_

**From Tyler:** _condoms and lubrication my good man_

**To Tyler:** _k_  
**To Tyler:** _imma go grab em bruh_  
**To Tyler:** _just gonna return this sweet sweet candy back on the shelf and then I'll be on my way._

**From Tyler:** _no dunt do it bro!_  
**From Tyler:** _I’m craving candy worms, plz bring_  
**From Tyler:** _the sour ones_

**To Tyler:** _gotchu :)_

 

* * *

 

Josh knocks a secret code on the door of room number 305, not exactly nervous but wiping his sweaty hands against his jeans all the same. He's toying with the do _not disturb sign_ hanging from the handle when someone mumbles something inaudible from inside the room.

“What?” he asks loudly after pulling the sucker he had been enjoying from out of his mouth to be able to speak better. It earns him a disapproving look from a cleaner pushing their carts through the hallway.

“I said the door's open!” Tyler screams from inside while strumming his ukulele like it's a new song he'd just made. Tyler's performance does nothing to lessen the intensity of the look the cleaner is giving Josh, so he just throws them an apologetic smile and darts into the room, banging the door shut behind him before leaning against it with a heavy sigh.

“I'm glad you could make it, Mr. Dun,” comes a greeting from the direction of the bed, where Tyler's lying on his back with his head hanging over the edge all upside down. He's got his sunglasses on, and everything he's saying gets accompanied by a random melody he plays with his tiny instrument. “Now come at me, bro. My body is ready.”

“Ready for what? To fall off the bed?” Josh asks as he pushes himself off the door, putting the candy with a handle back into his mouth while he starts walking towards the bed. Before he'd get a possible answer to the rhetorical question, Josh holds up the generic plastic bag he had been carrying, stating, “Here, I got the necessities.”

“Oh?” the guy says while craning his neck, interest perked. The ukulele in his hands gets put aside, and is replaced by a very eager gesture of grabby hands. Once Josh has seated himself on the edge of the bed, Tyler makes the effort to scramble up so that he could snag the bag and go through its contents.

“What's with the sucker?” Tyler asks while rummaging around the bag blindly.

“Oh, this?” Josh says, pulling the red candy out of his mouth with a pop, showing Tyler the unmistakeably phallic shape of it. “It was complimentary once I told the shopkeeper this would be my first time with a guy. Said I should get used to sucking one of these. Want some?”

“Nah, I should probably try and get used to seeing one in your mouth instead,” Tyler responds with a cheeky grin, though he can't seem to be able to fight off the small blush growing on his cheeks. “It's a good look on you, by the way.”

“That seems to be the common opinion,” Josh shrugs, watching as Tyler pulls out the _live-action homo erotica_ the shopkeeper had insisted on selling him.

“ _Dude_.” he says in slight awe, turning them around in his hands. “Are these actual VHS cassettes? Who even has a player for these things anymore?”

Josh uses his lollipop to wordlessly point at the VHS player sitting at the corner of the hotel room, placed right under the twenty-one-inch CRT TV. They both take a moment to stare at the relics, before Tyler narrows his eyes at the set. “That thing looks so old it could actually be vintage. I just hope the old-school feel didn't raise the price of our stay.”

“All I know for sure is that the old-school feel decreased the price of these sweet masterpieces,” Josh mutters while taking the cassettes away from Tyler and tossing them somewhere on the floor so that he could forget the whole ordeal of how he ended up buying them in the first place.

“Why’re you throwing them away? Don’t you wanna watch them?” Tyler asks coyly, hand already back in the bag.

“The shopkeeper might've tricked me into buying them,” Josh confesses, watching as Tyler pulls out the lubricant next, which has written promises on it such as _smooth, silky_ and _luxurious_. It’s a bit sad, now that he thinks about it. The peak of luxury they’re going to have on their first night together will be a dollop of lubrication from a cheap as heck tube Josh had bought from the shadiest, most run-down and all around suspicious adults-only-shop he had ever seen. “I wasn't exactly comfortable shopping in an actual sex shop and I think they were all too happy to take full advantage of that fact.”

“Aw, poor Jish,” Tyler’s supposed attempts to sound sympathetic fail pretty spectacularly. “You do know they sell this stuff in a regular store, right?”

“I know, but there was this mom and her kid in line behind me at the supermarket, and the kid was pointing at everything and naming things out loud and the mom looked exhausted enough that I didn’t want to put her through having to explain to her kid what the uncle-with-funny-hair in front of them was buying, alright? So I gave up and went elsewhere to buy them.” Josh recalls his horrid experience.

“ _Uncle Josh_ , huh?” Tyler ponders with a sly little smile on his face while nudging Josh with his shoulder and waggling his eyebrows in a comical manner.

Figures that was the part of the story Tyler would stick to. Bumping back against the other in retaliation, Josh makes a face and says, “Imma stop you right there.”

“Tsk, you just fail to see the poetry in it. It could’ve been beautiful.” There seems to be a little bit of the need to tease Josh about his adventures in him yet, but the next item Tyler pulls out of the bag takes the smile off his face and makes him look almost pale when he just says, “Oh no.”

“W-what? What is it?” Josh asks alarmed, his nervousness turning into confusion when he quickly turns to look at what Tyler was holding in his hands and seeing it was just the strip of condoms he had bought.

“Oh no, no, no,” Tyler repeats, slowly turning to stare at Josh with wide, horrified eyes. “Josh, they’re all banana flavoured.”

“What?!” Josh exclaims before yanking the evidence right out of Tyler’s hand, staring at the condoms in disbelief.

“If you didn’t want to have sex with me, you could’ve just said so.” Tyler says with a dejected tone, his sad, sad gaze dropping in the general direction of his lap.

“No, that’s not it, Ty, I swear!” Trying to remedy the situation, Josh takes Tyler’s hand in his, earnestly saying, “When asked, I specifically told them that as long as it’s not banana, any flavour will do.”

Tyler looks doubtful, squinting his eyes as he asks, “You mumbled, didn’t you?”

“I-“

“You were so embarrassed to be there you were just mumbling and they probably only heard ‘banana will do.’”

They sit in silence for a while as Josh shamefully contemplates on what exactly went wrong, whilst Tyler uses this time to wait for his drummer to come to the correct conclusion concerning their situation with an accusatory pout on his face which is hard to look at.

In the end, Josh’s shoulders drop as he says, “I’m out of the band, aren’t I?”

To which Tyler simply nods, saying, “I’m glad you understand and accept the consequences of your actions.”

Burying his face into his hands, Josh sighs dramatically before tousling his hair, pulling out his phone and standing up from the bed. He’s on his way to the door, typing a message and trying to brave himself to face the intimidating cleaner awaiting on the hotel hallways for poor souls such as him, when Tyler hollers after him, “Where are you going? I didn’t say you could leave.”

“You ain’t my lead singer no more, you can’t tell me what to do,” Josh says back a bit sourly, thumb hovering over the ‘Send’ button.

“I’m still holding onto my best friend privileges!” Tyler counters. “And who’re you messaging? It better not be some alternative booty call, Joshua Dun!”

It’s not. It’s more of a call for eating ice cream and watching whatever crap they showed in television these days whilst Josh got to mourn over the disaster that was this evening. But he doesn’t tell this to Tyler. He just stands still with his back facing the guy as an act of mild rebellion.

“Come back here,” Tyler demands, patting the bed from which he hadn’t bothered to move for who knows how long. “I’m not going to let you run into the arms of some other guy. Let’s just Netflix and chill for now, alright?”

“I’m confused,” Josh responds, scratching his head as he turns to look at his friend and tries to gauge what kind of chilling he was talking about this time around.

“I mean Netflix and chill as in ‘ _there’s this movie I really wanted to see in theatres but missed it because of touring_ ’ kind of way.” Tyler specifies while rolling his eyes.

Feeling like a heavy load has just rolled off his shoulders, Josh grins widely and takes a running start before leaping onto the bed and partly on a squealing Tyler. He stuffs his hand into the discarded plastic bag full of goodies, pulling out a bag of sweats from it and presenting it to his friend.

“Candy worms for my baby boy, as requested,” he says, bringing them to close to Tyler’s face that he goes a bit cross eyed trying to look at the bag.

“Awws, what a charmer,” the other can’t help but laugh, accepting the sweets and leaning in to steal a peck since Josh wouldn’t see it coming and was thus unable to avoid it on time. He doesn’t seem to mind the sudden attack, though, and just cups the back of Tyler’s head with his hand to prolong the spontaneous kiss.

“Hey,” Tyler tries to say between hitched breaths and curious tongues, finally pushing against Josh’s chest to attain some distance. Josh doesn’t seem to agree with the interruption, trying to lean back in with a far-gone look in his eyes, but Tyler won’t have none of that. After all, there’s something important he has to take care of before things escalate. “My band could use a good drummer. You interested in the position?”

Josh’s dazed look turns into an exited smile as he says, “Am I ever!”

“Sick!” Tyler responds with matching enthusiasms before leaning back in to celebrate the gain of a new band member and to get to know him on a more personal level.

“So sick,” the drummer agrees against his lips, before he was the one pulling back with a hesitant expression. “Wait, I thought we were supposed to Netflix and chill.”

“We will,” was all Tyler said before pulling him back in.

And surely enough, after a couple more kisses, that’s exactly what they were doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never had any plot for this, so perhaps it's best I end it here.  
> Thank you for all past and future comments!

**Author's Note:**

> I might've been hungry when I started writing this...


End file.
